The 6 Pages Every Boutique Hotel & Historic Inn Needs on Their Website

I’ve been in the travel writing industry for nearly 10 years, but I’ve been a huge fan of historic hotels and inns for much longer than that. As a former history teacher with a degree in anthropology, I love being able to stay in historic properties while learning about the local area. 

With all my years in the industry, though, I’ve noticed that digital marketing for boutique hotels is still sorely lacking across the board. 

In fact, a lot of beautiful properties with scroll-stopping histories don’t even have websites — which is absolutely doing a disservice to their marketing efforts. 

If you’re an innkeeper or owner of a boutique hotel, having a website is non-negotiable in today’s world. But making a website doesn’t have to be challenging. In fact, there are only 6 pages you absolutely need on your website — plus an extra 7th you can add if you really want to increase your chances of showing up organically online and connect with more clients who will then turn into customers.

Here they are. 

1. Homepage 

Your homepage is arguably one of the most important pages on your website, though it’s often one of the most neglected. I know for my own business, I treated the homepage as a catch-all of information for years, and I’m sure its funky layout and unoptimized copy hurt me more than I realized. 

However, homepages are powerful pieces of virtual real estate. According to Amadeus Hospitality, strong homepages allow prospective guests to get a real feel for your brand long before they ever book with you. 

This means that, when strong homepage copy is paired with compelling visuals, travelers can get a better sense of: 

• Who your brand is. 
• What you represent. 
• If you’re a good fit for them.  

If you’re overwhelmed about what to put on your homepage, keep it simple and straightforward. Even though there’s some flexibility you can have with your homepage, most websites have one that follows the same structure. This is a great part of your website to display basic pieces of information like: 

• A captivating hero image. This is the big picture you have at the top of your homepage. Use it to showcase your beautiful hotel with a sharp photo or dynamic video. 
• A catchy headline. Usually paired with your hero image, this is the first piece of brand voice visitors see when they come to your site.
• A “book now” CTA. If someone searched up your hotel directly, they might be ready to book when they land on the home page. Make it easy for them. 
• Social proof. This can be guest reviews or media mentions, if you have them. Show future visitors what other customers have to say about your brand. 

2. Booking Page

Your booking page is a critical part of your sales funnel, and, unfortunately, a lot of brands neglect this part when they’re thinking about content marketing for boutique hotels. Too many times I’ve seen a “booking ‘page” that is actually a contact page (more on that below), and it asks guests to call or email to request a reservation. 

According to an article published by Forbes, research shows that more than 50% of online shoppers will purchase from a different, more frictionless seller — and a solid 41% of consumers will willingly pay more for an easy shopping experience. 

The booking page for your independent inn our boutique hotel should be easy to navigate, clean and create a straightforward pathway for users to lock in their reservation. 

One of the easiest ways to do this is to embed a hospitality management system like Cloudbeds into your website, but you can also link out to third-party booking platforms as well, if that’s easier. 

The point here is that you need to have an easy “book now” option on your website menu or on your homepage so visitors have something to click on when they’re ready to reserve a room. Without this option, guests are way more likely to leave for a competitor. 

3. Room Descriptions

I stay in a lot of hotels, and without a doubt, room descriptions can absolutely make or break whether I choose to book with a specific property or not. 

Think about it — if you’re in a busy city like Miami where I’m based or a history-filled city like Rome or Boston, guests have hundreds of hotel options they can choose from. And even though boutique hotels and BnBs are less common than hotels, they’re still relatively abundant. 

All of this means that guests have tons of options to choose from when it comes to booking a hotel, so you want to give them a very clear reason as to why you’re the best choice. 

Additionally, most travelers book hotels without having ever visited the property first, which means your room description is going to be what convinces them to stay with you. 

Paired with bold images and clean videos, your web copy needs to tell a story about your hotel. This means your room descriptions need to highlight: 

• Specific amenities available in each space.
• What types of travelers each room is best for. 
• The vibe in each of the rooms. 

Without compelling room descriptions, it’s all too easy for your boutique hotel or independent inn to sound like the last thing you want it to be: just another property. 

Pppst! If you need some help here, this step is my specialty. If you need support crafting web copy that converts readers into buyers, let’s connect. 

4. Things to Do Nearby

Similar to the room description page, your “Things to Do Nearby” page can be a major factor that helps prospective guests decide if they want to book with you — especially if they’re in the early stages of their buyer’s journey. 

At the core of your role as a hotelier, you have the privilege of creating a space that serves as a traveler’s home base on their vacation. Your property is at the very cornerstone of their experience at this destination. 

But no matter how stunning your property is or how incredible your customer service might be, the majority of everyday travelers don’t visit destinations simply because of the hotel; they want to experience nearby attractions. 

As a hotel owner or innkeeper, this puts you in a unique situation to sell the place where your property is located alongside your hotel itself. There are a couple different ways you can showcase this, but by far, the most popular (and my favorite!) is through a blog. 

On your blog, you can share with prospective visitors why they should be visiting the city or town in which your property is located. This can include crafting SEO-friendly blog posts — which I can also help with — about topics like: 

• Best things to do in your city 
• Top restaurants near the hotel
• Easy day trips from your city 

When done correctly, having a destination-focused blog on your website won’t just help you keep visitors who already know about your business; it’ll help you attract new audience members through the power of SEO. 

5. About Page

According to this article by the Center for the Digital Future, readers’ trust in the information they find online has been steadily declining in recent years. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important to have an about page on your website — it shows readers who you are and what you represent. 

In larger, faceless businesses, an about page can be more about the brand; however, as a boutique hotelier or independent innkeeper, your audience likely wants to know about you. According to this article by 21 Carpenter, travelers who prefer staying in boutique hotels do so because they like the personalized experience of staying at a non-chain establishment. 

One of the ways you can easily feed into this is by having an about page that explains who you are as the owner and what your brand represents. 

This doesn’t have to be a space where you include tons of personal information, but it should include a professional paragraph or two that explains things like: 

• Who you are. 
• How you got started in hospitality. 
• What inspired you to open this hotel. 
• Any connection you have to the area. 

By having an about page that focuses on who you are as an individual, you’re more likely to start forging a personal connection with prospective buyers long before they visit your property. 

6. Contact Us

Having a contact page on your boutique hotel website likely feels like a no-brainer, but hear me out on this one: The way you encourage your ideal customer to book with you says a lot about the type of experience they can expect to have with your brand — whether it’s the message you intended to send or not. 

I spend a lot of time reviewing boutique hotel websites and critiquing copy, and, without a doubt, one of my biggest boutique hotel content marketing tips is to really personalize your contact process for prospective guests. 

Here’s why: 

According to this article by roommaster, guests travelers book boutique hotels because they’re craving “unique and personalized hotel experiences,” as well as ones that foster community. 

Doesn’t it make sense, then, that guests would want to feel like they’re having an authentic interaction with the innkeeper or hotel sales staff? 

Too often on boutique hotel or independent inn websites, I see guests prompted to fill out generic “contact us” forms or email impersonal addresses like contact@hotelname.com. 

I’m not saying you need to necessarily provide your own personal contact information on your website — especially if you have a larger hotel and receive frequent booking requests — but having a more personalized way for prospective guests to contact you can really set you apart from the competition.

This can also look different depending on the size of your property and the level of interaction you personally want to have with guests. 

For example, innkeepers of smaller B&Bs can provide their own personal email addresses, especially if you manage the booking directly yourself and don’t rely on traditional hospitality CRMs. 

Likewise, boutique hotels can include video introductions from the owners to thank prospective customers for viewing your website and encouraging them to fill out a form or send an email to contact the hotel team. 

Building a personal “contact us” page is less about increasing customers’ access to you and more about providing them with extra opportunities to feel like they truly connect with you and your brand. 

Conclusion

Content marketing for boutique hotels doesn’t need to be complicated, and you don’t need a ton of pages on your website in order for it to serve your guests’ needs. However, you do need content that tells a story and web copy that converts. And I can help with that. Contact me for customized support to help you grow and scale your business’ marketing efforts.